Sushi Making Class in Anguilla

I could live on sushi.

If I had to pick a single cuisine to eat every day for the rest of my life, it would probably be sushi and sashimi: nigiri, maki, sashimi; I love it all. Living in balmy Caribbean temps year round, I’m typically more inclined to want lighter, healthier (bikini-friendly) fare over rich fatty foods, and Japanese fits the bill.

When Chef Ken from Cha Cha San Restaurant told us that he was going to begin offering a sushi making class in Anguilla, we were more than a little intrigued. We can learn how to properly craft our own sushi and make a private experience out of it? Sign me up!

With Scott’s family in town, we had Chef Ken join us at the Frangipani villa for a sushi making class in Anguilla for seven of us, followed by a healthy Asian-inspired meal.

Mastering Sushi Making with Chef Ken

Chef Ken and his assistant set up our dining room table with seven stations and a master chef station for the demonstration. Equipped with bowls of sushi rice, seaweed, spicy tuna, avocado, crunchy tempura lobster, thinly sliced cucumber, roe and scallions, we learned how to make two rolls: an Anguilla-style California roll (using lobster instead of crab), and a spicy tuna roll. Guests can make special requests if there are certain rolls that are more up their alley, but with California rolls and spicy tuna rolls reigning supreme in a traditional popularity contest, we were learning how to master those (I use the term ‘master’ very loosely).

We wrapped one roll at a time with Chef Ken’s guidance and delicately cut each into 6 – 8 pieces. When we’d finished our sushi making, the table was quickly transformed from a sushi making table to a dining table, where we had our sushi rolls as our appetizer course. A very large appetizer course.

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Traditionally Chef Ken includes two more courses to follow the sushi appetizer course: a main course and a dessert, but he’s all about catering to your tastes and likes. Letting him know that I’m not a meat eater, we gave him free rein to whip up dishes that allowed him to be creative. We opted for soup instead of dessert (a spicy Thai take on a conch soup) and we were each given steamed boxes with veggies and protein to follow (wagyu beef for them, snapper for me).

For the send off, he made nigiri with hamachi belly, a delicate piece of fish slightly warmed on a tiny coal grill, teppanyaki-style. Check out this creation of this masterful bite:

We all finished the meal, stuffed to the brim with fish and sake, raving about the experience. This was the first sushi making class that I’ve ever done and the entire experience was absolutely memorable from start to finish. For a family or group of friends, it’s the perfect way to spend a night in Anguilla with a healthy and interactive meal. Sushi making classes start at around $85 per person and Chef Ken can work with you to make it an extra special experience with a meal geared towards your tastes.

Have you ever done a sushi making class? What was your experience like?